Research Assistant - The Brookings Insitution

A new study published as part of the Brookings Private Sector Global Health R&D Project examines the capacity of selected low- and middle-income nations to make effective use of external investment in global health research & development. The study assesses overall health governance capacity of 18 nations in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia by examining 25 indicators related to the five dimensions of management capacity, regulatory processes, health infrastructure and financing, health systems, and policy conditions in those countries.

The interactive scorecard below provides each country’s overall score and performance across the five dimensions. Click on a country’s name to view detailed scoring information across all 25 indicators.

Health Governance Capacity Index (HGCI)

Vietnam

82%

70

80

85

80

95

Score: 82%

Each indicator is scored on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest). To learn more about the HGCI scores, please read the 2016 report.

Nurses and Midwives (per 1,000 population)4/4

Physicians (per 1,000 population)3/4

Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births)1/4

Life Expectancy at Birth1/4

Population at Risk of Malaria (% of total population)1/4

About the study

Efforts to increase investment in global health traditionally focus on national governments and publicly funded multilateral aid organizations. Although the public sector is essential to the financing of medical research and development, non-governmental contributions have a large role to play as well. Given the proper environment—one in which it is clear that healthcare innovations will pass regulatory, policy, and legal muster—private sector financing can be a key source of investment in new medical treatments and preventions.

In “Health Governance Capacity: Enhancing Private Sector Investment in Global Health,” authors Darrell West, John Villasenor, and Jake Schneider examine the capacity of certain low- and middle-income nations to make effective use of external investment in global health R&D. “Good governance is a foundational condition for global health investment,” the authors write. “It conditions the overall environment in which both public and private sector health investment takes place.”

The researchers assess the overall health governance capacity of 18 nations in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia by examining 25 indicators related to the management capacity, regulatory processes, health infrastructure and financing, health systems, and policy conditions in those countries. Their key findings include:

Of the 18 countries studied, Vietnam, South Africa, China, and Ghana rank highest on the authors’ Health Governance Capacity Index (HGCI), indicating that these nations have a strong ability to attract and leverage private investment in health R&D.

Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, and Nigeria rank lowest on the HGCI. These nations received low scores on the dimensions of “Management Capacity” and “Health Systems,” indicating that targeted efforts to improve those areas could have a significant impact on their ability to absorb new investments relevant to global health goals.

In general, low- and middle-income countries can attract greater private investment in health R&D by increasing government transparency and stability, lowering tariffs on medical products, expediting the regulatory process for new drugs, investing in health infrastructure, and increasing government spending on health care in an efficient and targeted manner.

“By boosting private investment in global health R&D, the world can achieve even more impressive gains in personal well-being and economic growth,” the authors conclude in this, the first in a series of planned publications under the Brookings Private Sector Global Health R&D Project.